The Chicago and North Western Railway Power House is the historic

power house Powerhouse or power house may refer to: * Power station, a facility (or former facility) for the generation of electric power Businesses * Powerhouse (shop), a former electrical goods chain in the United Kingdom * Powerhouse Animation Studios, a ...

which served the 1911 Chicago and North Western Terminal in Chicago, Illinois. The building was designed by

Frost & Granger Frost & Granger was an American architectural partnership from 1898 to 1910 of brothers-in-law Charles Sumner Frost (1856–1931) and Alfred Hoyt Granger (1867–1939). Frost and Granger were known for their designs of train stations and terminals, ...

in 1909; it was mainly designed in the Beaux Arts style but also exhibits elements of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. Construction on the building finished in 1911, the same year the terminal opened. The irregularly shaped building borders Clinton Street, Milwaukee Avenue, Lake Street, and the former

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

tracks, which are now used by Metra for its Union Pacific District. The power house was built in cream brick with terra cotta trim,

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s, and ornamentation; the corner of the house at Clinton and Milwaukee features a brick smokestack. The building contained four rooms, a large engine room and boiler room and a smaller engineer's office and reception room. The Chicago Tribune reported in 1948 that the power house output enough power to serve a city of 15,000 people. The power house ceased to serve the station in the 1960s, but when the terminal was demolished and replaced by Ogilvie Transportation Center in 1984, the power house survived. It is one of two remaining railroad power houses in Chicago and the only remaining power house for the Chicago and North Western. The power house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 2004. It was designated as a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

on January 11, 2006. Prior to its designation as a landmark, the building had long been slated for demolition, and its sub-basements were damaged by the 1992 Chicago Flood. A real estate developer purchased the building and, by adding two additional interior floors, re-developed the structure into a mixed-use office and retail building. The renovations won the Best Adaptive Reuse award from Landmarks Illinois in 2007.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Chicago and North Western Railway Beaux-Arts architecture in Illinois Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States Renaissance Revival architecture in Illinois Transport infrastructure completed in 1911 1911 establishments in Illinois Chicago Landmarks